THE WILL TO LOVE - Vital Christianity

85yourself to death against it . . . The source of this is the shameful curiosity andboredom of our flesh and blood, as well as the devil himself, so that signs andwonders, especially the false ones, always get more of a following that thegenuine ones.” 5Will Ousler spent several months as a reporter documenting miracles of healing in thewestern world which he complied into a book called The Healing Power of Faith. Heinterviewed Roman Catholics, Christian Scientists, Religious Science people and Science of theMind followers. Star worshipers, snake handlers, outlandish cults, revivalists and Protestants ofall denominational stripes were all consulted in his study. He concluded:“From the mass of reports on a variety of sources—including ministers of majorreligions, medical staffs, of Roman Catholic shrines, priests, physicians, patientsand eye-witnesses—the fact that there are healings of paranormal character cannotbe questioned. That the reported healings are achieved by a variety of religiousand spiritual techniques, beliefs and rituals is evident.” 6While the factuality of the healings cannot be questioned according to Will Ousler,the matter of the healing of the soul is much more difficult to find:“The reporter is hard pressed to find documentation to healing of the soul.” 7It is the healing of the soul that Jesus is interested in. Not how impressive our signs andwonders are, not how amazing our power is demonstrated, but how people’s lives are changedfor the better—this is Jesus’ ultimate concern.Miracle alone do not prove one way or the other whether a person in a true follower ofJesus. To be used as an instrument in healing is not a sufficient credential to get past thejudgment.Because human nature is so easily fascinated with the supernatural we human beings areextremely prone to do such things from wrong motives. This seems to have been the case withthe people who came to Jesus on the Mount saying:“L-o-ord, oh L-o-ord, we sure did preach powerfully in your name didn’t we? Andin your name we sure did give the devil a run for his money, didn’t we? We did allkinds of stunts in your name, didn’t we?”There is always the danger of being too conscious of our own good deeds. In the case ofthese workers their service was not spontaneous expression of a loving heart, but a carefullyplanned program of a contriving heart. Their motive was too much centered on reward. Theyclaimed their good deeds and orthodoxy profession as a reason why God should allow them toenter His kingdom. They were employees who served God for a paycheck, rather than sons anddaughters who served Him as a response to Hid love for them.